SF 6 and PFC are being used as state-of-the-art tracers in tracer-technology programmes aimed at efficient oil recovery in the North Sea. This study aimed at specifying sources of leakage and ...quantifying emission levels of such gases and at evaluating their effect on global warming. To satisfy these goals, quantification of SF 6 and PFC combustion by-products under different realistic flame/temperature conditions (turbine, refinery, power plant, households and car engine) has been performed. The PFC compounds studied were PMCP (CF 3 C 5 F 9), PMCH (CF 3 C 6 F 11) and 1, 2-PDMCH ((CF 3) 2 C 6 F 10). Three-dimensional transport atmospheric modelling has been carried out using UAM-AERO for four different tracers' emissions scenarios (Base scenario, one including maximum emissions of tracers and two scenarios including overestimated emissions during loading processes and distribution over the land of Norway). The results showed a significant increase in the background concentrations of SF 6 and PFC in the last two mentioned scenarios up to 6 km height approximately. These concentration profiles have been used as input to radiative models. In addition to SF 6 spectral data obtained from HITRAN2K complemented with new band measurements, newly obtained data with quantitative spectral analysis for the specific PFC have been used in the line-by-line (GENLN2) and broadband models.
Advances in the field of closed-loop neuromodulation call for analysis and modeling approaches capable of confronting challenges related to the complex neuronal response to stimulation and the ...presence of strong internal and measurement noise in neural recordings. Here we elaborate on the algorithmic aspects of a noise-resistant closed-loop subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation system for advanced Parkinson's disease and treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder, ensuring remarkable performance in terms of both efficiency and selectivity of stimulation, as well as in terms of computational speed. First, we propose an efficient method drawn from dynamical systems theory, for the reliable assessment of significant nonlinear coupling between beta and high-frequency subthalamic neuronal activity, as a biomarker for feedback control. Further, we present a model-based strategy through which optimal parameters of stimulation for minimum energy desynchronizing control of neuronal activity are being identified. The strategy integrates stochastic modeling and derivative-free optimization of neural dynamics based on quadratic modeling. On the basis of numerical simulations, we demonstrate the potential of the presented modeling approach to identify, at a relatively low computational cost, stimulation settings potentially associated with a significantly higher degree of efficiency and selectivity compared with stimulation settings determined post-operatively. Our data reinforce the hypothesis that model-based control strategies are crucial for the design of novel stimulation protocols at the backstage of clinical applications.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background and purpose
Although the first mutation associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) was identified several years ago in the alpha‐synuclein (SNCA) gene in families of Greek and Italian ...ancestry, a more systematic study of this and other known PD mutations has not been performed in the Greek population.
Methods
A genetic analysis in 111 familial or sporadic with early‐onset (≤50 years, EO) PD patients was performed for the presence of the A53T SNCA mutation. In separate subgroups of these patients, further mutations in the SNCA, LRRK2, Parkin, PINK1 and DJ‐1 genes were searched for. Additionally, a subgroup of familial cases was analysed for mutations in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene.
Results
In total, five patients (4.5% of our whole population) were identified with the A53T SNCA mutation, two with a heterozygote dosage mutation and one with a heterozygote point mutation in the Parkin gene, and seven patients (10.3% of our familial cohort) with GBA gene mutations.
Conclusions
The A53T mutation in the SNCA gene, although uncommon, does represent a cause of PD in the Greek population, especially of familial EOPD with autosomal dominant inheritance. GBA mutations in the familial cohort tested here were as common as in a cohort of sporadic cases previously examined from the same centres. For the remainder of the genes, genetic defects that could definitively account for the disease were not identified. These results suggest that further Mendelian traits that lead to PD in the Greek population remain to be identified.
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Objective. Almost 30 years after the start of the modern era of deep brain stimulation (DBS), the subthalamic nucleus (STN) still constitutes a standard stimulation target for advanced Parkinson's ...disease (PD), but the use of STN-DBS is also now supported by level I clinical evidence for treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Disruption of neural synchronization in the STN has been suggested as one of the possible mechanisms of action of standard and alternative patterns of STN-DBS at a local level. Meanwhile, recent experimental and computational modeling evidence has signified the efficiency of alternative patterns of stimulation; however, no indications exist for treatment-refractory OCD. Here, we comparatively simulate the desynchronizing effect of standard (regular at 130 Hz) versus temporally alternative (in terms of frequency, temporal variability and the existence of bursts or pauses) patterns of STN-DBS for PD and OCD, by means of a stochastic dynamical model and two microelectrode recording (MER) datasets. Approach. The stochastic model is fitted to subthalamic MERs acquired during eight surgical interventions for PD and eight surgical interventions for OCD. For each dynamical system simulated, we comparatively assess the invariant density (steady-state phase distribution) as a measure inversely related to the desynchronizing effect yielded by the applied patterns of stimulation. Main results. We demonstrate that high (130 Hz)-and low (80 Hz)-frequency irregular patterns of stimulation, and low-frequency periodic stimulation interrupted by bursts of pulses, yield in both pathologic conditions a significantly stronger desynchronizing effect compared with standard STN-DBS, and distinct alternative patterns of stimulation. In PD, values of the invariant density measure are proven to be optimal at the dorsolateral oscillatory region of the STN including sites with the optimal therapeutic window. Significance. In addition to providing novel insights into the efficiency of low-frequency nonregular patterns of STN-DBS for advanced PD and treatment-refractory OCD, this work points to a possible correlation of a model-based outcome measure with clinical effectiveness of stimulation and may have significant implications for an energy- and therapeutically-efficient configuration of a closed-loop neuromodulation system.
Abstract Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease, with a constantly increasing prevalence and a high global financial impact arising from direct and indirect costs. Large-scale, ...observational studies provide data that support the better comprehension of disease aspects, constitute a baseline reference for future studies and assist comparisons among different patient populations, allowing the recognition of distinctive characteristics and special needs. The present study is the first to depict the clinical characteristics and their interplay in a large sample of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in Greece. Nine hundred eighty six consecutive PD outpatients were recruited from 17 centers around Greece in the time period from 8/2007 to 7/2009 and were examined and interviewed by movement disorders experts. Multiple clinical characteristics were recorded including age at diagnosis, disease severity, patients' self classification of PD symptoms and their relevance to physician's global clinical impression, smoking, alcohol consumption, presence of family history for PD, dementia, depression, hypertension, cancer and other comorbidities. Associations of high clinical significance were found between certain clinical characteristics.
Objective. During deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), microelectrode recording (MER) in conjunction with functional stimulation techniques are ...commonly applied for accurate electrode implantation. However, the development of automatic methods for clinical decision making has to date been characterized by the absence of a robust single-biomarker approach. Moreover, it has only been restricted to the framework of MER without encompassing intraoperative macrostimulation. Here, we propose an integrated series of novel single-biomarker approaches applicable to the entire electrophysiological procedure by means of a stochastic dynamical model. Approach. The methods are applied to MER data pertinent to ten DBS procedures. Considering the presence of measurement noise, we initially employ a multivariate phase synchronization index for automatic delineation of the functional boundaries of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and determination of the acceptable MER trajectories. By introducing the index into a nonlinear stochastic model, appropriately fitted to pre-selected MERs, we simulate the neuronal response to periodic stimuli (130 Hz), and examine the Lyapunov exponent as an indirect indicator of the clinical effectiveness yielded by stimulation at the corresponding sites. Main results. Compared with the gold-standard dataset of annotations made intraoperatively by clinical experts, the STN detection methodology demonstrates a false negative rate of 4.8% and a false positive rate of 0%, across all trajectories. Site eligibility for implantation of the DBS electrode, as implicitly determined through the Lyapunov exponent of the proposed stochastic model, displays a sensitivity of 71.43%. Significance. The suggested comprehensive method exhibits remarkable performance in automatically determining both the acceptable MER trajectories and the optimal stimulation sites, thereby having the potential to accelerate precise target finalization during DBS surgery for PD.
Gaseous and particulate species from two prescribed fires were sampled in-situ, to better characterize prescribed burn emissions. Measurements included gaseous and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) ...species, particle number concentration, particulate organic carbon (POC) speciation, water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and water-soluble iron. Major PM2.5 components included OC (∼57%), EC (∼10%), chloride (∼1.6%), potassium (∼0.7%) and nitrate (∼0.9%). Major gaseous species include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, ethane, methanol and ethylene. Particulate organic tracers of biomass burning, such as levoglucosan, dehydroabietic acid and retene, increased significantly during the burns. Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) also increased significantly during the fire and levels are highly correlated with total potassium (K) (R2 = 0.93) and levoglucosan (R2 = 0.98). The average WSOC/OC ratio was 0.51 ± 0.03 and did not change significantly from background levels. Thus, the WSOC/OC ratio may not be a good indicator of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in regions that are expected to be impacted by biomass burning. Results using a biomass burning source profile derived from this work further indicate that source apportionment is sensitive to levels of potassium in biomass burning source profiles. This underscores the importance of quantifying local biomass burning source profiles.
•Emissions are sampled from two prescribed fires in southern Georgia, USA.•Results are compared with other similar studies.•Results are used as a biomass burning source profile for source apportionment.
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